In what became one of the most hotly disputed executions in recent Texas history, 37-year-old James Broadnax was executed by lethal injection on Thursday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
He was pronounced dead at 6:47pm, after the US Supreme Court declined to step in earlier that day, and only minutes after issuing final remarks that remained resolute to the end.
“Texas got it wrong,” James told The Texas Tribune ahead of his execution.
“I’m innocent. The facts of my case should speak for itself.”
Witnesses reported that his wife repeatedly shouted “I love you” as the execution was carried out.
Broadnax had spent years on death row for the 2008 robbery and fatal shooting of two men outside a recording studio in Garland, near Dallas.
The victims were studio owner Matthew Butler, 28, and his friend Stephen Swan, 26, who were both shot and killed in a parking lot.
Broadnax and his cousin Damarius Cummings were convicted in the murders. Broadnax was sentenced to death, while Cummings received life in prison without parole.
At the time, the prosecution’s narrative appeared clear-cut.
CNN reported that Broadnax later told jailhouse television interviewers he had fired the shots, and was quoted as saying that he ‘no remorse’.
Years later, however, he withdrew those statements—arguing he was under the influence of drugs during the interviews and was in a self-destructive state of mind at the time.
From there, the case became far less straightforward.
Earlier this year, Cummings—still incarcerated—recorded a video confession asserting that he, not Broadnax, was the shooter.
Cummings said he convinced his younger cousin, who was 19 at the time and had no previous criminal record, to accept responsibility.
Broadnax’s attorneys pointed to that confession and emphasized what they described as key corroboration from forensic evidence: only Cummings’ DNA was found on the murder weapon and in the pocket of one of the victims.
They noted that Broadnax’s DNA appeared on neither.
The dispute also drew attention from prominent figures in the music industry. Travis Scott, T.I and Killer Mike filed briefs at the Supreme Court urging the justices to consider Broadnax’s appeal, including concerns that prosecutors had used rap lyrics he wrote to portray him as inherently violent and dangerous to jurors.
Despite those efforts, each avenue of relief was turned away.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed the case in April. The Supreme Court rejected multiple filings on Monday. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles declined to approve even a 180-day reprieve. Then, on Thursday afternoon, the final request to stop the execution was denied by the country’s highest court.
Texas Attorney General’s office characterized Cummings’ confession as “questionable new evidence,” and maintained that jurors dismissed during the original trial were removed for valid reasons unrelated to race—an argument Broadnax’s team challenged, alleging prosecutors relied on a spreadsheet that bolded the names of every black prospective juror.
Matthew Butler’s mother, Theresa, had publicly supported moving forward with the execution.
“This so called confession from Cummings is just a stall tactic by Broadnax’s desperate defence team, It’s all a lie,” CNN reported that she had posted to social media.
In his final statement, Broadnax addressed the victims’ families with an appeal for forgiveness, while also asserting that the state was executing the wrong person.
“I pray to God for your forgiveness,” he said.
“But no matter what you think about me, Texas got it wrong.”
He is the third person to be executed in Texas this year.